eBay launches service to tell retailers how you shop

eBay, the online shopping giant, has launched a new service which will enable
assistants in bricks and mortar retailers to automatically see detailed
information about the shopping habits of individual customers.

People walking into a store will be able to share their profile, including a photograph, their birthday and details of items they have bought from that retailer in the pastPhoto: Alamy

The scheme is one of a suite of new services eBay is rolling out in an effort to "bridge the gap" between online retail and the high street.

David Geisinger, eBay’s head of retail business strategy and innovation, said the company wants to arm sales assistants with the same level of in-depth information about would-be shoppers as retailers can collect online.

People walking into a store will be able to share their profile, including a photograph, their birthday and details of items they have bought from that retailer in the past.

They can also share information about products they do and don’t like, or the type of products they tend to shop for – for example children’s clothes for a certain age group, or train-themed toys.

Users either opt in and make their profile available to retailers at the point that they enter a store, or programme their smartphones so that assistants automatically see their profile as soon as they walk in. The project has been launched in America, and will be rolled out in the UK by the end of next year.

The company will also introduce its eBay now service to Britain – a scheme which allows users in certain areas to buy items from participating stores, and have their goods delivered to them within the hour by a “valet”.

eBay currently makes the service available to shoppers in New York, San Jose and San Francisco, for $5 per delivery from a single store. It is poised to launch in Dallas and Chicago as well. Ebay would not reveal when it will launch in Europe but it is expected to be available by the end of 2014.